Scutaro's single lets Giants finish off sweep

DETROIT — Marco Scutaro singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Sunday night to complete a four-game sweep and win their second World Series title in three years.

Ryan Theriot, who went hitless for St. Louis in Game 7 of last year's Series, singled softly into right field off Phil Coke opening the 10th.

Detroit's Triple Crown winner, Miguel Cabrera, had given the Tigers a glimmer of hope with a two-run homer in the third inning, but it wasn't enough. In this series, nothing Detroit did at the plate was enough.

Cabrera struck out looking in the bottom of the 10th for the final out, bringing a quiet end to Cabrera's marvelous season and Detroit's latest attempt to win its first title since 1984.

After being shut out in Games 2 and 3 and falling behind early in the finale, the Tigers at least mounted one last comeback. Cabrera's wind-blown, two-run drive put Detroit up 2-1 for its first lead of the series. When Buster Posey gave the Giants a 3-2 lead with a sixth-inning homer, Detroit tied it immediately in the bottom half on a solo shot by Delmon Young.

But that was it.

The Tigers wouldn't score again, and the vaunted middle of their batting order wasn't heard from. After a leadoff walk in the eighth, Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Young struck out in succession, and there was a sense that one more San Francisco run would win it.

Scutaro delivered it.

The last pitch to Cabrera looked hittable — but Detroit looked out of synch offensively from the start in this series after sweeping the New York Yankees in the AL championship series, never trailing in their four games. The Tigers didn't hold a lead against San Francisco until Cabrera homered.

Fielder, the $214 million acquisition who was brought in to give the Tigers a better shot at that elusive championship, went 1 for 14 in the World Series. Detroit hit .159 as a team.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer gave up three runs and seven hits in 61/3 innings, struck out eight and walked none. Relievers Drew Smyly, Octavio Dotel and Coke held the Giants off until the 10th, but Detroit could never score the additional run needed to win it before extra innings.

San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval took home the MVP award after hitting .500 with three home runs, a double and four RBIs in 16 Series at-bats.

“It's just an incredible moment you're never going to forget,” Sandoval said. “You learn. You learn from everything that happened in your career. ... We're working hard to enjoy this moment right now.”

“When you have a good manager, good GM, throwing all the things in your face, you have to keep focused and keep playing and keep working hard,” he said.

Sandoval went deep three times in the opener, matching the Series record shared by Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols.

Sandoval made his big-league debut with the Giants on Aug. 14, 2008, and earned his nickname just a month later. That Sept. 19 at Dodger Stadium, Sandoval scored from second on Bengie Molina's first-inning single off Greg Maddux, leaping sideways to avoid catcher Danny Ardoin's lunging tag on the throw from center fielder Matt Kemp.

Maddux and Dodgers manager Joe Torre argued Sandoval ran out of the baseline. Barry Zito, on the mound for the Giants that night, coined the nickname for Sandoval's oversized personality and roly-poly shape — the animated film “Kung Fu Panda” had been released in theaters that June.

Sandoval's weight is listed at 240 on the Giants' website, 235 on the players' site. At one point, he had been up to at least 272.